Empty restaurant spaces line up new concepts

CHARLOTTE — Several Charlotte-area storefronts left vacant by restaurant closures have new concepts lined up and tracking toward opening.

In SouthPark, the former Village Tavern space in the Rotunda Building will be replaced by Laurel Park, a new-to-market offering that plans to dish up New American cuisine. That 5,500-square-foot restaurant expects to open in October. Village Tavern closed about a year ago at 4201 Congress St. after a 35-year run.

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In South End, The Eagle Food & Beer Hall closed at Atherton Mill in mid-September after nearly five years. It marked the second local concept to be shuttered by Cincinnati-based Thunderdome Restaurant Group in recent months. Thunderdome also closed taco spot Bakersfield in Dilworth over the summer. The South End space, however, quickly found a replacement. New York-based Flora will bring its seasonally focused menu of American cuisine there in winter 2026.

At the former home of Vana in South End, The Story of Mi Cariño — Spanish for my darling — is set to open later this fall. Owners of that gastro-cantina and mezcaleria are investing more than $2.5 million into the 2,350-square-foot space.

And north of Charlotte, in Cornelius, veteran restaurateur Frank Scibelli is bringing his Little Mama’s Italian concept to a site formerly occupied by G.O.A.T. Pizza. It expects to begin dishing up Italian-American comfort food in early 2026.

Keep reading here.

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